A Japanese samurai sword, or "
katana
", almost 700 years old and worth 650,000 euros was smuggled into Switzerland, Swiss customs said on Tuesday (May 31st).
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The facts occurred in the Zurich region, in the north of the country.
The saber dating from 1353 was inside a vehicle registered in Switzerland.
The driver of the vehicle, accompanied by his daughter, had not declared the unusual object when he entered Switzerland through the Thayngen border crossing, near Germany, said the Federal Office of Customs and Security. border security.
After the investigation by customs, "
it turned out that the driver of the vehicle was not the owner of the saber
", but a man working for the real owner.
The latter had instructed the driver to pick up the saber in Stuttgart (Germany) and transport it to his home in Switzerland.
Even if the katana was brought into Switzerland at the request of its owner, the latter should have declared it to customs, as ancient Japanese swords are considered “
cultural property
” under the law on the transfer of cultural property.
The purpose of this law is to protect the cultural heritage of humanity and to prevent theft, looting and the illicit export and import of cultural property in Switzerland.
Following the investigation, the Federal Customs Office collected nearly 54,000 francs (approximately 52,550 euros) in VAT and at the same time issued an indictment for violation of the VAT law against the driver of the vehicle.
He incurs a penalty of up to 800,000 francs (778,400 euros).
